Conventionally, access terminals (ATs), such as wireless communication devices, are configured to operate on access networks provided by other carriers when the access terminal is outside the range of the access network for the access terminal's main carrier. The ATs “roam” on the access networks provided by the other carriers when wirelessly communicating with other ATs or communication devices. The loading of a sector of the access network associated with the other carriers increases as the number of access terminals connected to that sector increases. Generally, ATs connected to a sector with a high load will have a higher probability of degraded experience when wireless communicating over the loaded sectors of the access network. The ATs may experience reduced throughput during wireless communication or failed connection setups on when connected to a loaded sector of the access network.
When the AT connects to the main carrier, a router on the access network of the main carrier makes routing decisions to balance the load on the sectors of the access network. However, when the AT is roaming the main carrier is unable to balance the load because the main carrier is unaware of load conditions on other access networks associated with the other carriers.